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MEMORIAL 



OF 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW 



MEMORIAL 



OF 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW 



PRIVATELY PRINTED 
MDCCCXCVII 






John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. 



ASSOCIATION OF THE BAR OF THE 
CITY OF NEW YORK. 

AT a meeting of the Association of the Bar 
of the City of New York, held on De- 
cember 8, 1896, the following memorial, pre- 
pared by Mr. David Willcox, was adopted by 
the Association for insertion in its Memorial 
Book. 

The family of Mr Bristow was English and 
Welsh in its origin, but for several generations 
had been settled in Virginia and Kentucky. 
His father, Francis Marion Bristow, was long 
the leading lawyer of Elkton, Todd County, 
Kentucky. He was also a member of the 
lower house of the Legislature in 1831 and 
1832; a State Senator in 1846; a member 
of the Constitutional Convention in 1849, and 
Representative in Congress from the Third 



2 MEMORIAL OF 

District of the State in 1854-55, and again 
in 1859-61. He was a Whig, and after the 
dissolution of that party, a Unionist. 

Benjamin Helm Bristow was born at 
Elkton, on June 20, 1832. He was gradu- 
ated from Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, 
Pennsylvania, in 1851. After studying law 
in his father's office, Mr. Bristow was admitted 
to the bar in 1853, and for a time practised at 
Elkton in partnership with his father. Upon 
November 21, 1854, at Elizabethtown, Ken- 
tucky, he was married to Abbie Slaughter 
Briscoe. Their two children are now Nan- 
nie Bristow Draper, wife of Eben S. Draper, 
of Hopedale, Massachusetts, and William B. 
Bristow, of New York. In 1858 Mr. Bristow 
removed to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and formed 
a partnership with Judge R. T. Petrie, and after- 
ward with Mr. John Feland, which continued 
until he entered the volunteer service. 

At the outbreak of the Rebellion, as Ken- 
tucky was a slave state, the sympathies of 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 3 

many of its citizens were with the seceding 
states. Mr. Bristow, however, animated by 
the anti-slavery principles learned from his 
father, and by the spirit of patriotism which 
was always characteristic, at once gave him- 
self up to the work of preserving the Union. 
He aided largely in recruiting the Twenty- 
fifth Kentucky Infantry, and on September 
20, 1861, was mustered into the service as its 
lieutenant-colonel. With his regiment he took 
part in the engagements about Fort Henry 
and Fort Donelson, and in the battle of Shiloh. 
In the latter action he was seriously wounded, 
and the regiment was so reduced in numbers 
that it became necessary to consolidate it with 
another regiment. After recovering, Mr. Bris- 
tow devoted himself to raising the Eighth 
Kentucky Cavalry. That regiment was mus- 
tered into the service for one year, on Sep- 
tember 8, 1862, with Mr. Bristow as its 
lieutenant-colonel, and on April 1, 1863, he 
was commissioned as its colonel. With the 



4 MEMOEIAL OF 

regiment he was engaged in many cavalry 
skirmishes in Kentucky in 1862 and 1863. 
When General John H. Morgan of the Con- 
federate cavalry made his greatest raid through 
Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, Mr. Bristow and 
his regiment were engaged in pursuit, and were 
present at the capture of Morgan and his com- 
mand near Wellsville, Ohio, on July 26, 1863. 
Mr. Bristow's decision of character and com- 
plete self-possession in the presence of danger 
admirably fitted him for a cavalry officer, and 
his military service was successful and dis- 
tinguished. A brevet as brigadier-general was 
offered to him, but as his service had then 
terminated, he declined the honorary rank. 

In August, 1863, while Mr. Bristow was 
engaged in this active service, he was elected 
to represent Christian County in the State 
Senate of Kentucky. This was done without 
his knowledge. The emancipation proclama- 
tion of January 1, 1863, had been met in 
Kentucky by organized and determined opposi- 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 5 

tion upon the part of some of the so-called 
Unionists, led by ex-Gov. Charles A. Wickliffe. 
The political situation was very critical, for it 
was feared that this movement might lead, even 
at that late day, to some effort to arbitrarily 
drag Kentucky into secession, as had been 
done in the case of Tennessee. Those who 
were in good faith supporting the National 
Government, deemed it of great importance 
that Mr. Bristow's well-known personal force in 
argument and in counsel should be employed 
in combating any such scheme in the legisla- 
ture. Inasmuch as the term of service of his 
regiment expired in the month following, and 
as his election seemed to be a call to duty, Mr. 
Bristow reluctantly gave up further military 
service and accepted the position of Senator. 
He never ceased, however, to feel that interest 
in the events and the actors in the great 
struggle to preserve the Union, which is pecu- 
liarly intense in those who themselves have had 
their part in its trials and its victories. He 



6 MEMORIAL OF 

always remained a member of the societies of 
the Armies of the Cumberland and the Ten- 
nessee. Many a friendship which he formed in 
the field continued without interruption so long 
as life endured. And when the end came, 
none were more heartfelt mourners than those 
who, amid the stirring events of active service, 
had learned to know both the high standards 
of action and the personal charm of character 
which always made him a chosen companion 
among his fellow-men. 

Mr. Bristow's term as State Senator began 
upon December 7, 1863. During its continu- 
ance, in the various struggles which took place 
regarding the efforts of the National Govern- 
ment to suppress the Rebellion, Mr. Bristow was 
the leader of those who were constantly in favor 
of giving to the Government the utmost measure 
of support. Among other things, he advocated 
and voted for the unconditional ratification of 
the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution, 
providing for the abolition of slavery. He was 



BENJAMIN HELM BEISTOW. 7 

active, too, in the presidential election of 1864, 
speaking and writing in favor of the re-election 
of Mr. Lincoln. 

As the exigency to meet which he had ac- 
cepted the election no longer existed, Mr. Bris- 
tow resigned from the Senate in 1865, and 
removed to Louisville. On November 2, 1865, 
he was appointed to the office of Assistant 
United States Attorney for the district of Ken- 
tucky. Upon the special recommendation of 
Hon. James Speed, who was then Attorney- 
General, Mr. Bristow was, on May 4, 1866, 
appointed to the oflfice of United States Attor- 
ney for that district. By reason of the return 
of those who had been in sympathy with the 
Rebellion, a condition of great disorder existed 
throughout the State. The Ku-Klux-Klan was 
constantly perpetrating acts of personal violence 
upon those, both white and black, who had 
supported the cause of the Union, and frauds 
upon the revenue were the general practice. 
It therefore became Mr. Bristow's official duty 



8 MEMORIAL OF 

to enforce through the courts the national 
statutes protecting all citizens in the enjoyment 
of their civil rights and securing to the Govern- 
ment the efficient collection of its necessary 
revenue. He addressed himself to this work 
with his customary vigor, and succeeded, during 
his term of office, in establishing a condition of 
civil order and obedience to law then unequalled 
in any other part of the country which had 
been so affected by the influences of the 
Rebellion. 

The Republican members of the legislature, 
forty-one in number, on January 30, 1867, 
voted for Mr. Bristow as their choice for the 
office of United States Senator from Kentucky. 
Inasmuch, however, as that party was in the 
minority, the Democratic candidate, Garret 
Davis, was elected. 

Upon January 1, 1870, Mr. Bristow resigned 
from the office of United States Attorney and 
formed a partnership for practice of the law with 
Hon. John M. Harlan, now one of the Justices 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 9 

of the United States Supreme Court. Shortly 
thereafter Congress passed an act creating the 
office of Solicitor-General. The efficiency with 
which Mr. Bristow had discharged the duties 
of his office as United States Attorney had 
attracted the attention of President Grant. 
Accordingly on October 4, 1870, without so- 
licitation upon his part, he was appointed as 
first incumbent of the office of Solicitor-General 
of the United States. While he held this 
office he was actively engaged in writing opin- 
ions, and more especially in arguing causes in 
behalf of the Government before the Supreme 
Court. These covered the entire field of the 
Federal jurisdiction, including many important 
constitutional causes. Mr. Bristow thus ac- 
quired a high reputation, which always con- 
tinued thereafter, for thorough familiarity with 
the national jurisprudence, and for effectiveness 
in discussing the principles upon which it is 
based and the rules of law established by its 
adjudications. 



10 MEMORIAL OF 

Upon November 12, 1872, Mr. Bristow 
resigned the office of Solicitor-General and 
accepted an appointment as general counsel 
of the Texas and Pacific Railway Company. 
He found, however, that the duties of this 
office were largely administrative rather than 
professional, and, animated by that love for 
the pursuits of his profession which he always 
showed, he soon resigned this position and 
resumed practice of the law at Louisville. 
Upon December 2, 1873, Mr. Bristow was 
nominated by President Grant to the Senate, 
as Attorney-General of the United States " in 
case the present Attorney-General (Hon. George 
H. Williams) " be confirmed as Chief Justice 
of the United States." Mr. Williams, however, 
was not confirmed, so that the nomination of 
Mr. Bristow did not become effective. 

Upon June 3, 1874, Mr. Bristow was ap- 
pointed by President Grant to the office of 
Secretary of the Treasury. His administration 
was characterized by great advances in the 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 11 

economy and efficiency with which the puhhc 
business was transacted, and by vigorous and 
unflinching enforcement of the laws concern- 
ins; collection of the internal revenue. The 
soundness of the views expressed and the 
recommendations made by him regarding the 
evils of a paper currency and the necessity of 
resumption and continuance of specie payments, 
has been fully shown by the history of the 
country since that time. Indeed those views 
may be said to have but recently received the 
overwhelming approval of the nation. Time 
will not permit a detailed statement of the 
events of the two busy years during which 
Mr. Bristow held this high office. It will be 
interesting, however, to quote to some extent 
the expressions of his official reports upon 
the subjects to which reference has just been 
made. 

In his official report for 1874 Mr. Bristow 
said, regarding the existing paper currency : 
" The universal use of and reliance upon such 



12 MEMORIAL OF 

a currency tends to blunt the moral sense and 
impair the natural self-dependence of the peo- 
ple, and trains them to the belief that the 
Government must directly assist their indi- 
vidual fortunes and business, help them in their 
personal affairs, and enable them to discharge 
their debts by partial payment. This incon- 
vertible paper currency begets the delusion that 
the remedy for private pecuniary distress is in 
legislative measures, and makes the people un- 
mindful of the fact that the true remedy is in 
greater production and less spending, and that 
real prosperity comes only from individual 
effort and thrift. When exchanges are again 
made in coin or in a currency convertible into 
it at the will of the holder, this truth will be 
understood and acted upon." 

Again, in his official report for 1875, Mr. 
Bristow said : '• The circumstances attending the 
issue of the United States notes now in circu- 
lation impress upon the Government a peculiar 
obligation to provide for their speedy and cer- 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 13 

tain redemption in coin. They were issued in 
the exercise of a power which can be called 
into use only in a time of supreme necessity, 
and were paid out for the support of an army 
composed of brave and patriotic citizens who 
had responded to the call of their country in 
the hour of its extreme peril. To suffer a 
promise made at such a time, and under such 
circumstances, to be dishonored by subsequent 
indifference or non-performance, would be little 
better than open repudiation, and would affect 
injuriously our national name and credit. It is 
worthy of note that for the most part those 
who now oppose the redemption of legal-ten- 
der notes, and who ask for a further issue, and 
continued and indefinite re-issue of the notes 
now in circulation, were most strenuous in 
their opposition to such issues during the civil 
war. The acts authorizing such issues were 
denounced as in violation of sound princi- 
ples of finance and not warranted by the Con- 
stitution. . . . Those who opposed such issues 



14 MEMORIAL OF 

at the time of supreme necessity and insist 
upon further issues when the emergency has 
passed away, put themselves in the attitude 
of opposing war measures in the midst of 
war, and advocating them in time of profound 
peace." 

So, too, in an oration which Mr. Bristow de- 
livered upon Decoration Day, May 29, 1875, at 
the Cave Hill Cemetery, at Louisville, he ex- 
pressed views which applied with great force 
to the future at that time, and which have 
not yet lost their application to the condition 
of public sentiment. " May we not," he said, 
" look forward with assured confidence to the 
time in the near future when all intelligent 
men, North and South, will not only accept 
the results of the late conflict, but will recog- 
nize the blessings that flow from it, and admit 
that any other issue would have been an irrep- 
arable calamity to both sections of the coun- 
try ? While we must differ from those who 
sought to dissolve the Union, and look from 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 15 

a different standpoint upon the history of the 
struggle that ensued, we may safely concede 
to them the right to hold such opinions as 
they like in respect of the past, and claim from 
them only a cheerful and hearty loyalty to the 
present and future. And why should this not 
be so ? Are we not bound together by ties of 
consanguinity and community of material inter- 
ests ? Whatever promotes discord or weakens 
our common government, threatens danger and 
disaster to all alike ; and whatever gives 
strength and prosperity to our free institu- 
tions promises blessings to the people in every 
part of the country, and to their posterity." 

His official experience made Mr. Bristow a 
firm believer in the principles of civil service 
reform. In the early days of the movement 
in that direction he became acquainted with 
the late George William Curtis, to whom the 
present success of the reform owes so much. 
Each, thereafter, entertained the highest regard 
for the other, based in no small degree upon 



16 MEMORIAL OF 

the agreement of their views on this impor- 
tant question. Wiiile Mr. Curtis continued as 
president of the National Civil Service Reform 
Association, Mr. Bristow was constantly one of 
its Vice-Presidents. In all ways within his 
power he supported the efforts of the associa- 
tion, and none rejoiced more sincerely than he 
in the successive steps forward made by the 
cause of reform in the civil service. 

In the Winter and Spring of 1876, Mr. Bris- 
tow was prominently mentioned in connection 
with the Republican nomination for the Presi- 
dency. Accordingly, at the National Conven- 
tion of that party held at Cincinnati, upon June 
15, 1876, his name was presented as a candi- 
date for the choice of the Convention. He was 
placed in nomination by John M. Harlan, of Ken- 
tucky, and was seconded by Luke P. Poland, of 
Vermont, George William Curtis, of New York, 
and Richard H. Dana, Jr., of Massachusetts. 
The total vote of the convention was 754. 
Upon the first ballot James G. Blaine, of Maine, 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 17 

received 285 votes ; Oliver P. Morton, of 
Indiana, received 124 votes ; Benjamin H. 
BristoWj of Kentucky, received 113 votes, and 
the remaining 232 votes were divided among 
four other candidates. The vote for Mr. Bris- 
tow increased gradually until the fourth ballot, 
which stood, Blaine, 292 ; Bristow, 126 ; Mor- 
ton, 108 ; all others, 228. Upon the seventh 
ballot the opposition to Mr. Blaine was concen- 
trated in support of Mr. Hayes, of Ohio, who 
received 384 votes, and was thus nominated. 
The vote for Mr. Blaine on that ballot was 351, 
while the remaining 21 delegates, including 
those from his own State of Kentucky, still 
adhered to Mr. Bristow as their choice. 

By reason of his conscientious views of official 
duty, Mr. Bristow always found the cares of 
office irksome. With the view of relief from 
further responsibility of this sort, under date of 
June 17, 1876, he addressed to President Grant 
a letter tendering his resignation as Secretary 
of the Treasury. To this the President replied 



18 MEMORIAL OF 

in an autograph letter, which has not been here- 
tofore published, dated June 19, 1876. This 
acknowledged receipt of the resignation, to take 
effect upon the twentieth of the month, and 
added: "In accepting it for that date, permit 
me to hope that our personal relations may 
continue as heretofore, and that you may find 
that peace in private life denied to any one oc- 
cupying your present official position." 

Mr. Bristow's official career, therefore, cov- 
ered in all a period of but fifteen years, of which 
the first two were spent in active service in the 
field. During the remainder of that period, it 
was not continuous, but was from time to time 
broken by his voluntary resignation from offi- 
cial station. He never sought for office, and, so 
far as was in his power, discountenanced all 
efforts of friends in that direction. Animated 
by the feeling that a good citizen should always 
hold himself subject to the call of duty toward 
his fellow-citizens, when that call seemed ad- 
dressed to him he was ready to serve, both in 



BENJAMIN HELM BKISTOW. 19 

war and in peace. But when the necessity for 
such sacrifice of personal inclination seemed to 
be past, no one was so happy as he to retire to 
the repose of private life and to the regular 
practice of his profession. In them he always 
found his truest satisfaction. 

Upon the termination of his service as Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, Mr. Bristow returned to 
Louisville. In the Autumn of 1878, however, 
he removed to New York, and upon October 16, 

1878, formed a partnership with William Peet, 
Henry L. Burnett, William S. Opdyke, and 
David Willcox, under the firm name of Bristow, 
Peet, Burnett, & Opdyke. Thereafter he con- 
tinued a member of this firm and its successors, 
Bristow, Peet, & Opdyke, and Bristow, Opdyke, 
& Willcox. From that time forward he con- 
stantly shunned official position and devoted 
himself steadily to practice of the law. In 

1879, Mr. Bristow became a member of the As- 
sociation of the Bar of the City of New York, 
and had the honor to serve, in 1882, as a member 



20 MEMOKIAL OF 

of its Judiciary Committee ; from 1883 to 1885, 
inclusive, as a member of its Executive Com- 
mittee ; and in 1887 and 1888, and again in 
1895, as one of its Vice-Presidents. In 1879, 
Mr. Bristow was elected as the second President 
of the American Bar Association, and on August 
18, 1880, he delivered at Saratoga the annual 
president's address. In December, 1895, Presi- 
dent Cleveland tendered to him an appointment 
as a member of the Venezuela Boundary Com- 
mission ; but for personal reasons Mr. Bristow 
was unable to accept the position. 

In the course of his diversified professional 
career, extending over forty-three years, Mr. 
Bristow had occasion to become familiar with 
many branches of the law and to appear before 
the courts in many parts of the country. He 
was engaged in numerous important causes, not 
only in the courts of New York, but of other 
states as well. His advice was much sought 
by reason both of his familiarity with legal 
principles, and also of his keen appreciation of 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 21 

human nature. As already said, however, he 
was pre-eminent especially on account of his 
knowledge of the Federal jurisprudence. In 
the national courts he was peculiarly at home. 
His first appearance in the United States Su- 
preme Court was in 1870, in the case of United 
States V. Hodson (10 Wallace, 395), and his 
last appearance there was in 1895, in the In- 
come Tax cases (Pollock and Hyde v. Trust 
Companies, 157 U. S. 429, and 158 U. S. 601). 
His last appearance in court was on May 13, 
1896, before the United States Circuit Court of 
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, as counsel for 
the appellee in the case of the Southern Railway 
Company, appellant, against the Carnegie Steel 
Company, Limited. This cause was decided in 
favor of the appellee, upon November 10, 1896, 
many months after Mr. Bristow's death. 

Mr. Bristow's arguments were based upon 
thorough preparation. Without uselessly con- 
suming time, he addressed himself to the deci- 
sive questions in the case at bar. He had a 



22 MEMORIAL OF 

voice of singular charm, together with entire 
ease in delivery and dignified urbanity of man- 
ner. These qualities, joined with a firm grasp 
of legal principles and strict integrity and accu- 
racy in stating facts, made him an advocate to 
whom the courts listened with especial pleasure 
and confidence. He was thus always in position 
to render the highest service to the interests 
committed to his charge. 

Both by constant reading and by wide ac- 
quaintance with his contemporaries, Mr. Bristow 
had acquired great familiarity with the history 
of the country and the characters and achieve- 
ments of its leading citizens. He took pleas- 
ure in the consideration and exposition of the 
principles, both written and unwritten, upon 
which constitutional popiilar government is 
based. No one more than he was interested 
in the recent contest, of which he saw the 
beginning, to preserve the honor of the nation 
and the liberty of the individual against the 
encroachments of repudiation and the tyranny 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 23 

of ignorance. No one would have rejoiced more 
sincerely than he in the demonstration finally 
made at the polls of the capacity of the people 
to govern themselves. But this it was not to 
be his fortune to witness. 

Mr. Bristow died at New York, after a short 
illness, upon June 22, 1896. Amid the grassy 
slopes and shady trees of Woodlawn he lies at 
rest. But in the memory of those whose pleasure 
it was to know him, he still lives and will live 
as one who, with rugged independence, con- 
stantly adhered to the highest standards of pro- 
fessional and personal conduct, and who at the 
same time, by the extent of his information, 
the breadth of his experience, the justice of his 
sentiments, and the geniality of his humor, made 
his society a never failing delight. 



UNION CLUB, OF NEW YORK CITY. 

At the time of his death, Mr. Bristow was 
one of the Governors of the Union Club of New 
York. At a meeting held upon October 14, 
1896, the Governors adopted the following Reso- 
lution, prepared by Mr. Clarence A. Seward, the 
President of the Club. 

The sudden withdrawal from our limited num- 
ber of one of our associates, by a death so un- 
expected as to be virtually instantaneous, may 
well justify us in pausing for a moment in the 
orderly discharge of our official duties to place 
upon our records a brief tribute of respect to 
his character and memory. 

Benjamin H. Bristow was with us at the last 
June meeting. He was then apparently in full 
health, and interested in pending questions. 
We heard that he was ill, and then we were 
startled by the swift announcement that the 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 25 

thread of life had snapped and that he had 
gone forever. 

Gifted by nature with a physique which 
may well be called superb, educated in all that 
a professional gentleman may properly require, 
bearing himself with a grace and dignity which 
made him notable among men and peers, — 
he commanded the respect and esteem of all 
who knew him, even of those who might differ 
in judgment and opinion. 

What he believed, he felt ; and what he felt, 
he spoke and acted, — promptly, vigorously, and 
with conscientious candor. 

Loyalty was a cardinal principle in his most 
chivalrous nature. Born in a Southern State, 
and amid influences which were peculiar to the 
locality, he stood by his country and supported 
its Government in the hour of its peril. Trans- 
ferred to high official position, he carried with 
him the same loyalty to his chief. Misunder- 



26 MEMOKIAL OF 

stood and misrepresented, the loyalty still re- 
mained, and, seeking neither vindication nor 
justification, he went to his grave in silence, 
sustained by the consciousness of the absolute 
rectitude of all of his official acts. 

An innate and sterling honesty prevented 
him from discovering that a public place might 
possiblj'' be converted into a source of personal 
wealth. 

In the more subtle and delicate relations of 
social and personal life, as guide, companion 
and familiar friend, the winsomeness of his 
character was most apparent, and thereby 
were formed those cords of friendship which 
survive even the triumph of death. 

Gentle, affectionate, and considerate to the 
last degree, no claim ever passed unrecognized, 
no service unacknowledged. A warmer heart 
or a warmer hand were never chilled by the 
coldness of the grave. 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 27 

He was able in all that he undertook. He 
was prominent to a degree which justified an 
aspiration for high political preferment. That 
it was not gratified but verifies the experience 
of the ability and prominence of many who 
have gone before, and of many who will come 
afterwards. 

For twenty years he was a stanch and 
steadfast member of our Club, whose varied 
circles welcomed his presence and appreciated 
and prized his companionship. He was twice 
a member of its Governing Committee, and as 
such his courtesy and fidelity were appreciated 
by all. 

The surviving members of that Committee 
enter upon their minutes this manifestation of 
their profound regret that they shall no longer 
know the touch of the vanished hand, nor hear 
again the voice that is hushed. 



THE BAR OF LOUISVILLE. 

At a meeting of the bar of Louisville, held in 
the United States Court, June 30th, 1896, to take 
action on the death of General B. H. Bristow, 
the following resolutions were adopted : — 

Resolved, That we, the members of the Bench 
and Bar of Louisville, deeply feeling the loss of our 
friend and brother, General Bristow, desire to for- 
mally testify our appreciation of his worth. 

As a citizen, he was intensely loyal and patriotic ; 
as a member of this community, he was respected and 
beloved for his courtesy, kindness, and rigid honesty. 
As an army officer, he was brave and ever ready to 
perform his duties. As a civil officer, in times when 
it became necessary to antagonize his friends and 
fellow-Kentuckians, he rendered services as District 
Attorney for this Federal District, faithfully, with 
zeal and ability, tempered by kindness and feeling. 
As a member of this Bar he ranked among the fore- 
most of his profession, and his removal from this city 



BENJAMIN HELM BRISTOW. 29 

was a marked loss to the local Bar and to the com- 
munity. His career as a lawyer was always marked 
by a close study of the law, a faithful attention to 
and vigorous action in the interest of his clients. 

His behavior toward the Bench and his brethren 
at the Bar was a notable and happy union of dignity 
and courtesy. 

Besolvcd, That the Committee on Resolutions ap- 
pointed at this meeting are directed to present this 
memorial to the Federal and State courts in this city, 
with the request that they be spread upon their re- 
spective records, and that a copy thereof shall be sent 
to General Bristow's family. 



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